UR Medicine Recovery Center of Excellence focuses on evidence-based practices to help rural communities prevent and reduce the impact of substance use and substance use disorder (SUD).
Our programs are outlined here, with links to more information and resources. Current projects appear at the top of the page. They are followed by other programs, which are organized under the headings saving lives, expanding access to treatment, and reducing stigma related to SUD.
Questions? Interested in learning more about resources or programs? Connect with us through Program Assistance.
Current Projects
Reducing Stigma
- Community Conversations on Opioid Use Disorder: Broadening Representation, Increasing Sustainability
- Reducing Stigma Related to Methadone
Adolescent and Youth
- Growing Resilience: Strengthening Community Collaboration for Substance Use Prevention
- Addressing Rural Adolescent E-Cigarette Use
Pain Management
- Postoperative Pain Management
- Postoperative Oral Surgery Pain Management
- Opioid Stewardship in Primary Care
Saving Lives
Naloxone Delivery in Rural Communities
- Resources for developing naloxone distribution programs.
Preventing Overdose from Combined Substances
- Resources to raise awareness about polysubstance use and prevent overdose.
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
- Posters and tools to help rural communities raise awareness about the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
- Training adapted to the needs of service providers and organizations in rural communities, with ongoing support.
- Assessing programs to support families and protect the lives of individuals at risk for suicide or overdose, as well as Community-led Safe Spaces as a way to expand options for behavioral health crisis care in rural communities.
Treatment Access
Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) in Primary Care
- Online training modules for primary care providers and staff to help provide more comprehensive care for their patients with OUD or SUD.
Increasing Treatment Engagement Using a Cognitive Behavioral Approach
- Training and support for providers and clinics to expand patient engagement with SUD and/or mental health treatment.
Telehealth As a Bridge to MOUD in Primary Care
- Telehealth partnership to prescribe maintenance medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) for patients as a “bridge” until MOUD can be prescribed locally.
Rural Opioid and Direct Support Services (ROADSS) Program
- Program to provide methadone maintenance treatment closer to home for rural residents through auxiliary medication sites or mobile units that are connected through telehealth to an opioid treatment program (OTP) outside the immediate area.
Behavioral Health Assessment Officer (BHAO)
- Licensed behavioral health provider in a rural hospital emergency department (ED) who manages care during the ED visit for patients identified at screening to have SUD or mental health concerns.
Behavioral Health Care Manager (BHCM)
- Clinical staff member in a primary care practice who manages care for people with SUD or mental health concerns and coordinates with other providers to ensure uninterrupted transitions to treatment and support.
Creating a Rural SUD System of Care
- An approach to increase access to and community-wide support for best practices in treatment for OUD.
- A guide on shifting group therapy for SUD to a telehealth format and engaging effectively with patients.
Adapting Opioid Treatment Programs to Social Distancing
- Lessons learned on adapting an OTP to social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pain Management in Primary Care
- Partnership between the center and primary care practices in rural New York State to provide case consultation about pain management.
- Research on planning for and responding to the closure of a pain management practice to ensure patients in a rural community have access to care for chronic pain.
Post-Operative Pain Management
- Program to establish best-practice prescribing guidelines and alternative, non-opioid analgesic pain-management approaches for post-operative opioids through patient and provider education and an Opioid Explorer Dashboard.
Reducing Stigma
Overcoming SUD Stigma in Rural Communities
- Evidence-based solutions for overcoming stigma that focus on the importance of contact with people who have lived experience and education about effective treatments and recovery.
Community Conversations on OUD
- Workshops for community members and for health care providers that highlight the lived experience of individuals affected by SUD in rural communities to inspire conversations and reduce stigma.
- Adapted Indigenous Community Conversation workshop developed with Haudenosaunee partners.
Reducing Stigma in Rural EDs and Other Care Settings
- Poster and video campaign, focused on lived experiences, that promotes a stigma-free care environment and connects individuals and families to treatment resources.
Taking Action: National Rural SUD Health Equity and Stigma Summit
- 2022 event that brought together participants dedicated to reducing stigma and promoting health equity for people with SUD; presentations, articles, and other materials available online.
Communicating the Benefits of Increasing Local Access to SUD Treatment
- Presentation on “Welcoming Recovery: How Locally Based Treatment Programs Bring Positive Change.”
Revised November 2024